


Right Back Where It All Began

by deadeyedwritergirl



Series: Love Me Again [5]
Category: Liam Payne (Musician), One Direction (Band), Zayn Malik (Musician)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-11
Updated: 2020-02-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:48:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22664281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deadeyedwritergirl/pseuds/deadeyedwritergirl
Summary: Epilogue
Relationships: Zayn Malik & Liam Payne, Zayn Malik/Liam Payne
Series: Love Me Again [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/824922
Kudos: 12





	Right Back Where It All Began

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! It's been an age!
> 
> Okay, I've had this on ice for ages. Unfortunately, I've decided to let this series go because I just can't seem to finish it.
> 
> So here is what was intended to be the epilogue of the series. I will not be posting the rest of the fic this was supposed to be attached to as it is in incomplete bits and pieces that I no longer intend on completing but it just felt like a shame not to share this bit.
> 
> I hope you like this anyway!
> 
> The usual disclaimers apply.

> **CONTEXT:**
> 
> This is set in the future after Liam and Zayn eventually get back together.
> 
> * * *

Zayn’s heart was thudding so hard that he was sure it would break out of his chest, or maybe just stop altogether.

He and Liam were alone in the secluded VIP area of _Modest!,_ the club where they had first met. He'd put together a little get-together. He'd told Liam it was just a bit of a celebration after everything they had been through. It had been a long few months since Taylor had been diagnosed with the benign tumour that had ended up bringing their little family back together.

Through the surgery, recovery, and physiotherapy, they had done it all together and Liam and Zayn had ended up falling back into one another. They had grown closer and eventually gotten back together as a family.

Now here they were, celebrating health, and if it went well, hopefully, a lot more.

He'd managed to pull Liam away from their friends and family under the guise of needing a moment to regroup, but really it had been to have this moment, to do this thing that both scared and excited him. 

He’d been planning this party for the last month or so, but he’d wanted to wait until everything had settled down and they knew that Taylor was 100% healthy. 

She was healthy and things were really good between them. Their relationship had never been better and what better time was there to make it official, to finally get married.

He fumbled in his pockets, trying to find the small box hidden there. Once he’d located it, he turned to Liam who was seated on the couch watching him quizzically.

He walked up to where his boyfriend sat and watched as Liam’s face turned from amused to surprised as Zayn got down on one knee in front of him.

“Now, I know I cocked it all up the last time we tried this, but I reckon we can get it right this time,” Zayn chuckled awkwardly.

Liam was still looking at him with a bewildered expression. Zayn could see the thoughts racing in his mind through his expressive eyes but he soldiered on anyway.

“I’m not gonna make a long speech and that, in case I fuck it up. So I’m just gonna get straight to the point,” he continued.

“Liam James Payne, will you marry me?”

Liam let go of the breath he’d been holding onto since Zayn had gotten down on one knee in front of him. He couldn’t speak, he barely remembered how to breathe as it was. All he could do was feel and even that was a mess because it felt like he had a thousand different emotions zipping through him at a million miles a minute.

The ones he could identify where elation, terror and confusion. Of course, he was happy! He had loved Zayn almost from the very moment he’d laid eyes on him, in this very club. He’d dreamed of this for almost as long. It was the fantasy that had kept him going when he’d thought he’d lost the love of his life for good. But he was frightened too. They’d tried this twice before. This was their third attempt at their relationship and building a life together but who was to say that it wouldn’t fall apart this time too? The thought sent a cold chill down Liam’s spine. He hadn’t thought he’d make it through the last break up, but by some miracle (and his daughter) he’d made it and he’d even managed to pull his life together and be fine without Zayn, even though for the most part it had felt like he was missing a part of himself.

If he said yes, if he dared let himself believe in a forever with Zayn again, he wasn’t sure he’d survive it if it all fell to pieces yet again.

Zayn could see how conflicted Liam was. The emotions seemed to be warring on his face unabashedly. He wanted to marry him. Liam was the love of his life- he and Taylor _were_ his life and he’d take them whichever way he could have them.

If Liam was still unsure about them, if he was anywhere near as terrified as he was too and wasn’t ready to make the commitment, then Zayn would wait. He would wait for him with the same patience Liam had shown him once before.

He got up from his position on one knee and sat down next to Liam, his body angled towards his boyfriend. He took his hands in his and stroked them softly, in what he hoped was a comforting gesture.

He tilted his head to try and catch Liam’s downturned gaze.

“Liam, jaan, it’s okay. You don’t have to say yes if you’re not ready. You don’t have to feel pressured.”

Liam met his eyes then.

“What about everyone out there? This is what they’re here for isn’t it? This whole party was an engagement party.”

“It was an engagement party, but no one else knew I was going to propose. I told them we were just celebrating being together and Taylor being healthy.”

Liam just sat there staring, still looking like he didn’t believe Zayn.

“Liam, it’s all right, yeah? You can say no. It won’t change anything. I love you and I’m not going anywhere whether there’s a ring or not.”

Liam turned his head then, looking Zayn dead in the eye. He was searching his face, searching his eyes, trying to find some bit of hesitation or a hint of anything that would tell him whether Zayn meant his words or not.

But Zayn was just smiling at him gently. His eyes glistening with nothing but hope and contentment and...love. That’s all Liam could find and for once in his life, he felt that he was worthy of it because the man, now sat beside him, had shown him that. He had shown him what it was to be built back up from broken pieces, to be chosen, to be loved and then finally, at long last, to be forgiven. Zayn had loved him so convincingly that Liam no longer doubted himself or Zayn. Yes, he was terrified, but what was there worse than what they’d gone through in the past already? They had survived that and surely that meant they could survive anything else thrown their way.

Looking in Zayn’s still smiling face, Liam brought his hand up slowly, first to trace the curve of his lips. Then he cupped his chin and ran a gentle thumb over Zayn’s cheek feeling the smooth skin beneath it.

Zayn had loved Liam back to life when he had not even known that he had stopped truly living, and in return, Liam had loved him back, thoroughly, wholly and without reserve. That’s why it made sense for him to give the answer he did.

“Okay,” he said.

It was only when he was met with slight confusion in Zayn’s eye that he realised that could have been referring to any one of the many things Zayn had said while Liam had sat there like an idiot trying to talk himself out of one of the best things in his life.

“Okay...?” Zayn asked, still gentle.

“Okay, I’ll marry you,” he clarified.

If Liam had had any doubt in his mind, it was eviscerated by the sunbeams that seemed to radiate off of Zayn’s wide smile as he looked at Liam with a look he hadn’t seen in a long, long time. He looked at him with that look like his world was complete, like Liam was the last piece in an intricate puzzle he’d been putting together for too long.

He watched as Zayn fumbled with the ring box, trying to get it open and just smiled back at him, basking in the glow of Zayn’s (and also his own) happiness.

Once Zayn had finally gotten the box open, he pulled the ring out and all but shoved it on Liam’s finger, lest he changed his mind. But when he looked back up to the love of his life he realised that it probably wasn’t going to happen. Liam was silently staring at the band around his finger in awe like he couldn’t believe his fortune. Any trace of the doubt that Zayn had seen earlier long gone and forgotten.

Breaking out of his shocked trance, Liam registered what had just happened. Fuck! He was engaged. To Zayn, the love of his life and the most beautiful man and soul he’d ever met. Laughing at himself for ever being scared of this euphoria that was now coursing through him, he pulled Zayn in by the lapels of his jacket and kissed him hard and soft and rough and deep and anyway he could because he was his now, really his and Liam was Zayn’s too. Sure, they had only just gotten engaged, but the way their hearts beat in tandem with excitement and love told him that they would definitely make it down that aisle and to the end of forever...together.

Pulling away, breathless and panting slightly Zayn smiled at Liam. He couldn’t seem to stop it.

“Uh, I think we should get back out there. Tell everyone the good news,” a guilty look crossed Zayn’s eyes only for a moment but it was still long enough for Liam to catch.

He narrowed his eyes playfully at his boyfriend...fiancé.

“You said you hadn’t told them!” he accused.

“I lied,” Zayn had the sense to look sheepish as he made the confession, “I just didn’t want you to feel pressured to say yes.”

Liam playfully swatted his arm for lying to him, but he wasn’t upset. He had no room for it because happiness seemed to be taking up every available space in his body.

Zayn stood up first and held his hand out to help Liam up. Liam took it and allowed himself to be led towards the exit of the VIP area.

They were just about to exit when Zayn stopped abruptly, turning to Liam as though he had just come to a horrible realisation.

“You don’t, do you? Feel pressured, I mean.”

Liam shook his head gently, smiling to reassure his boyf- fiancé.

“I love you, Zayn Javadd Malik,” he said.

“And I love you, Leeyum.”

With one last chaste but loaded kiss, they exited the room.

“Right, let’s go make our mums cry.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all for all the wonderful comments and feedback you've given this series. You're all the best. Thank you.


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